Conversation of Lies
by 1412 karasu
Summary: "It had been a meeting between two adversaries that would not be their last  ... , but it would be one that would forever remain imprinted on one phantom thief's heart." *One-shot*


**1412 karasu**

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**Meeting of Lies**

The night was a rather unusual one. It was not due to the weather, or the loud cheering that filled the streets for a particular phantom thief, but rather the odd encounter on the balcony of a small apartment complex and its subsequent street. The balcony was made out of matted metal that blended into the background so well that it was just a rather dark splotch on the backdrop of the faded brick building. It was situated in such a way as to face a monstrous and gaudy museum that showed signs of frantic activity that was giving way to awe.

The night itself hadn't started off abnormal. The man in white had successfully stolen a rather large blue gem, running circles around his taskforce with measured freedom with a grin and a matching chuckle firmly attached on his face. Through some careful preparation, he had even set up rather large fireworks, providing a spectacular sight when he disappeared after a sudden flash of colors had exploded behind him.

But, rather than run away, he had decided to find a quiet place to watch the fireworks and contemplate, in such a place so isolated at the moment that the chances of him being found were slim to none. While he enjoyed melding with the crowd, he had made it a ritual for himself to watch the aftermath of his heists-study their reactions, learn from the comments of the heist. He could hear them, with the microphones placed on his trained doves that he'd left stationed near the crowd.

_"Today was fun!"_

But the normality of this innocent routine was broken with the soft smack of a ball hitting a foot repetitively, followed by the jarring sound of the ball hitting the bottom of the balcony he had situated himself on. Surprised, he peered over the balcony, and into the startling azure eyes of a young boy not four feet below him. Even in the near darkness caused by light-induced shadows dimmed the boy's icy spheres. Under his foot was a circular object half lit up by the lights from across the street. His countenance revealed nothing as to what he was thinking; a formidable fellow, though of a minor age.

_"Ahh, I feel like I'm going to die of laughter! But..."_

He immediately recognized the boy for who he was, and yet he felt no fear. It was unlikely that he had been recognized, for he had donned the mask of Satou Kaya, twenty-five year old woman who happened to live very close to the location of the latest heist of Japan's resident gentleman thief. But, on the slightest chance that he had been identified, he still did not worry, and merely felt curious. During their interactions it was a never-ending game, a mix of relentlessness, daring, recklessness, and euphoria all in one. But afterwards, when the adrenaline stopped pumping through their systems, when it was time to move on with their lives, they merely felt a small drum of competitiveness, easily buried under the pressure of daily life. After all, shrunken detectives had more things to worry about than the daily life of a boy-cum-thief. And while said thief was rather interested in his fellow acquaintance's plight, he respected their unspoken bushido.

_"But..."_

His rival's eyes widened, and the formerly white-clad phantom, now young woman smirked internally as he recognized the transformation of a teenager to a small child that was taking place in his diminutive rival. "Gomenasai, Onee-san! I accidentally kicked my soccer ball too high!"

_"It feels like it's..."_

The disguised gentleman thief smiled gently, her appearance-long brown hair, ethereal indigo eyes-illuminated by a nearby firework. "It's okay, bouya. But what is someone so young doing out here at a time like this, especially without an adult at hand?" If his adversary was going to play like that, then so would he-after all, the game must go on.

_"...missing something..."_

"Ran-neechan wouldn't let me go to where KID-san was! I could have gotten that rascal too, but she wouldn't let go of my hand. I escaped too late, so I'm just waiting until she calls me so I can go home." The boy had resumed his juggling as he talked in supposed agitation; though the teen knew for a fact that the mini detective could rationalize perfectly well while he indulged himself in the soothing repetition of juggling.

_"The atmosphere..."_

"You shouldn't wander away from her like that, bouya. Especially at night. What if something bad happened to you? She would be lonely, I'm sure." Mentally, the magician allowed himself to input himself in the last statement. Strangely, it didn't feel wrong.

_"Just isn't the same."_

The boy was quiet for a little while. The kaitou let his rival collect himself, for he knew how deeply his statement had struck the boy. He could not begin to imagine the pain of watching his lover weep over his disappearance while giving her support that he knew she appreciated but didn't want-at least not from the persona he was wearing. He didn't want to imagine it, either, so he went back to his people watching.

_"I didn't get the feeling..."_

"How about you? Is there anyone out there who would miss you if you were gone?" Ah, the direction of the conversation was shifting. He could sense, rather than hear, his sometime-adversary contemplating things larger than the relations of a total stranger.

_"... That he was enjoying it, 'ya know?"_

The gentleman thief contemplated his answer for a second, never taking his eyes off the doe-eyed crowd. The fireworks display was over, but many still loitered around, and even from his current position he could hear the bellowing of Nakamori-keibu. "Nope," he said. Not the KID. Nobody loved the KID. Just his value for entertainment. And like that new iPad 2, his value would slowly decrease until his name would merely be one told to rich children, about a thief who could magic himself into any vault, and could only be stopped by the child falling asleep...

_"Maybe... KID's time is over..."_

The seven year-old got quiet again, perhaps fighting an internal battle, before hesitantly stating, "I think I would miss you."

The taunting voices from the crowd stopped. His breath drew quickly. Those were the words... That he had been waiting for. He had begun to loose sight of himself, ever since he had found and destroyed Pandora-ever since he lost his purpose to being a thief. But once he had donned his white-clad persona, he had felt so at home that he couldn't bring himself to stop, even after it was no longer necessary. But his morals had caught up with him, and he had become conflicted. His popularity had gone down. He convinced himself that nobody needed the KID, that he was just indulging on his own selfishness, wasting the task-forces' time. They were a competent, tight-knit group, despite their gloriously negative record, and would be valuable to any section they could dedicate themselves to. Who was he to get in their way?

"You'd miss me, huh?"

But his boy... No, this man, had said that he had cared. Was he talking about Satou Kaya? Or the Kaitou KID? Honestly, he didn't care. He had made his decision, and now the world was going to feel the maniacal glee of KID-sama in his ongoing quest to antagonize the world and win over the hearts of millions of women around the world.

He looked down to see his rival staring up at him with eyes unhidden by glasses and a wide cheshire grin. At that moment, Kaito had never felt so glad to have a rival in the shrunken teen.

They stayed like that for a while, and Kaito hummed an obscure tune about a man who flew to the moon.

His favorite detective broke the silence. "Say, what's your name, Onee-san?"

"Satou Kaya. And you, mysterious shounen?"

"Edogawa Conan, tantei sa."

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At around three a.m. all was silent on the streets, finalizing the end of his people-watching. He stretched, bones cracking in a pleasurable way, before scampering down the fire escape. Today was Sunday, his only full day of rest, and he planned to enjoy it fully.

A slight breeze coming from his left picked up. He glanced back towards the balcony he had spent the better part of his night occupying, smirking slightly at the little indent on the bottom, the only trace of their midnight conversation.

It had been a conversation of lies, their masks still unbroken; and yet it had brought peace to a tortured soul. It had been a meeting between two adversaries that would not be their last, nor would it be their most exciting, but would be the one that would forever remain imprinted on one phantom thief's heart.

He walked towards his car-Jiji was waiting for him. And as he closed his eyes for a moment, he imagined that with the breeze came the phantom of a voice.

_"I think I would miss you."_

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A/N: Three hours of amazing, yeah! xD This changed quite a bit from how I pictured it would be like in the beginning. But I love it anyway. If only I had a beta... *hint hint*

Well, this is a one-shot anyway. But in general, I suck at reviewing what I've written. [I doubt anybody will but] PM me if interested! Talking is nice too! Exchanging story ideas, or just talking... Yep!

In this, I tried to be obscure... It was such a pain coming up with random things to call Kaito and Conan. Also, I tried to make it so as you can interpret it different ways. Did Conan know or not? :P

Peace! ~1412 karasu


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